Wendy Dillinger

Wendy Dillinger
Personal information
Full name Wendy Marie Dillinger
Date of birth (1974-12-09) December 9, 1974
Place of birth St. Charles, Missouri, USA
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1993–1997 Indiana University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Indiana Blaze 43 (19)
1998 Frederiksberg 5 (3)
2001 Atlanta Beat 7 (3)
2004 St. Louis Archers 6 (4)
Total 61 (29)
Teams managed
1998–2001 Indiana University (assistant)
2002–2007 Washington University in St. Louis
2008–2013 Iowa State University
2014–present University of Missouri St. Louis

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Wendy Dillinger (born December 9, 1974 in St. Charles, Missouri) is the current head soccer coach at the University of Missouri St. Louis and former professional soccer player. Dillinger previously served as the head coach at Washington University in St. Louis and Iowa State University and as an assistant at Indiana University.

Youth

Born in St. Charles, Missouri, to William and Dorothy Dillinger, Wendy began her soccer career at age five playing in the backyard not long before she joined forces with the CYC (Catholic Youth Council) St. Elizabeth Ann Seton team. From there she moved on to St. Cletus, Coke, Norco, Jamestown Stars and finally ended up with then national powerhouse JB Marine. She was a three-time Missouri State Cup Champion (once with Jamestown and twice with JB Marine) and in 1994 was named the Most Valuable Player of the U19 State Cup Final. In 1995, she captured a silver medal with JB Marine in the U23 National Amateur Cup which was played in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dillinger attended St. Charles West High School in St. Charles, Missouri where she was a four-year Honor Roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. As a Warrior, Dillinger scored 100 career high school goals and led her team to the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Final Four in 1992. She was named All-GAC (Gateway Athletic Conference) four years straight and named St. Louis All-Metro in 1992 and 1993. As a senior she was twice named St. Charles Journal Athlete of the Week and received the St. Charles West Scholar Athlete Award, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete Award and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1993 St. Louis North-South All-Star Game. Dillinger also earned All-Conference honors in softball and led her team to a basketball district championship her senior year.

College

On June 10, 1992, the Indiana University Athletics Committee approved the addition of women's soccer as a varsity sport for the 1993–94 season and on December 21, 1992 IU Athletic Director Clarence Doninger announced the hiring of Joe Kelley as the women's soccer coach. Kelley previously served as an assistant coach for the men's program under Jerry Yeagley for 15 seasons and played for the Hoosiers in 1975.[1]

On February 11, 1993, head coach Joe Kelley traveled to St. Charles, MO for his first in-home visit with then high school senior Wendy Dillinger. On May 27, 1993, Coach Kelley announced his first Indiana University women's soccer recruiting class which included Dillinger, Brooke Breer, Betsy Costello, Angie Doss, Amy Friedrich, Cheri Hooper and Quincy Wolkowitz.[1]

Dillinger attended Indiana University from 1993–1997 (1996 redshirt) where she started 75 matches. She currently holds school career records for goals (37), assists (24), and points (98). She was a two-time first team All-Big Ten selection in 1994 and 1997. Dillinger also earned All-Region recognition in 1993 (All-Central), 1994 (All-Mid East) and 1997 (All-Great Lakes). Her 13 goals in 1993 mark the second-highest single-season total. She tallied eight assists in each of the 1993 and 1997 seasons, a mark that is tied for first in school history (Carrie Watts 1998). Her efforts make her the first player ever at Indiana to record three multi-goal games in one season. She also holds the school record with eight total multi-goal games. Dillinger, a biology major, received Academic All-Big Ten laurels in 1994–95.[2]

Dillinger's Indiana University Women's Soccer Records

Professional

Indiana Blaze

Dillinger's senior career began with the W-League's Indiana Blaze in 1997 where she played through 2000. In 1997, Dillinger started nine games in which she recorded three goals and two assists. In 1998, she started the final two games of the season after returning from Denmark. Dillinger played a leading role in helping the Blaze win the Central Conference and advance to the W-2 Final Four in 2000 where they finished third overall. She started at three different positions for the Blaze: center midfield, center back and forward. In 2000, she was third in points with four goals and four assists. In July 1999, she was named to the W-League Team of the Week alongside Charmaine Hooper of the Chicago Cobras.

Fredericksburg Boldklub

In the summer of 1998, following her senior year at Indiana University, Dillinger headed to Europe to play professionally for Denmark's Fredericksburg Boldklub. She notched three goals and added three assists in five games to help Fredericksburg advance to the Elite Division.

Atlanta Beat

In February 2000, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was founded by John S. Hendricks, chairman and chief executive of Discovery Communications, Inc. and became the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid professionals. Dillinger was invited to the week-long combine held at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida December 5–9, 2000, during which 200 invitation-only players got the chance to participate in games and drills.[10] It was during this combine that Dillinger recorded the first ever official WUSA penalty kick. At the end of the week, 120 of the players were selected in a 15-round draft to fill the roster spots.

Dillinger was not selected in the initial draft; however, she did receive invitations to try out for the Atlanta Beat and Carolina Courage in February 2001. She attended the Beat's invitation-only tryout which took place on the campus of Emory University February 15–18 and consisted of 19 invitees from around the country. On February 19, the Atlanta Beat finalized their pre-season roster of 28 which included the addition of Dillinger along with Suzanne Eastman, Charry Korgel and Sarah Reading.

March 1 marked the beginning of a month-long pre-season in which the 28-player roster trained at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Georgia Tech's campus.[11]

In the third and fourth matches of the pre-season at Agnes Scott College on Saturday, March 17, the Beat faced Vanderbilt University and the University of Florida. After playing 90 minutes in the first match of the double header, Dillinger made her mark less than five minutes after entering the second contest when she took a pass from Kylie Bivens and struck a 35-yard blast to the upper left corner past the Florida's goalkeeper for the game winner in the 61'.[12] The team then traveled to Chula Vista, California for exhibition matches at the WUSA Preseason Tournament. Following the week-long tournament, teams would be required to cut their rosters to 20 players.

On March 25, 2001, in a match against the Bay Area CyberRays, the Brazilian connection of Sissi and Katia combined to take an early lead 16 minutes into the match. The Beat remained down by one for the next 54 minutes before Dillinger, who entered the game in the 60' for Charry Korgel, struck a shot from distance which deflected off CyberRays defender Thori Bryan and in to the back of the net. The score would remain tied 1–1.[13]

On March 28, 2001, the Atlanta Beat defeated the San Diego Spirit 2–0 and moved to 8–0–1 in pre-season play. Dillinger scored the first goal from the penalty spot in the 10' to give the Beat a 1–0 lead. The penalty kick and ensuing red card were given when Spirit defender, Kim Pickup, made a dangerous tackle on Beat forward, Charmaine Hooper. Pickup was ejected from the match.[14] Charmaine Hooper connected with Kerry Gragg for the second goal of the match.[15] By the end of pre-season, Dillinger led the Beat in scoring with four goals.

On April 2 WUSA rosters were cut from 28 to 20 and the Atlanta Beat announced their final roster which included Dillinger as well as FIFA co-Player of the Century Sun Wen, US WNT players Briana Scurry, Cindy Parlow, Nikki Serlenga, former Canadian National Team Captain Charmaine Hooper, Japan's National Team's Homare Sawa, and Julie Augustyniak, Nancy Augustyniak, Kylie Bivens, Marci Miller, Sharolta Nonen, Dayna Smith, Lisa Krzykowski, Charry Korgel, Nicole Lamb, Kelly Cagle, Emily Burt, Kerry Gragg and Melanie Wilson.[16]

Three weeks following the Beat's season opener at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, April 21 against the New York Power, Dillinger was released. Upon returning home, Dillinger underwent knee surgery. She was one of three Indiana Hoosiers to play during the inaugural WUSA season along with Tracy Grose, Carolina Courage and Kelly Wilson, Bay Area CyberRays.[17]

St. Louis Archers

In 2004, Dillinger concluded her playing career as player-coach for the W-League's St. Louis Archers. In addition to coaching soccer stars such as Lindsay Kennedy (St. Louis Steamers) and Beverly Markwort (Indiana University), she tallied four goals and three assists in six games. Dillinger officially retired in April 2005 after a patellar realignment.

Coaching

Indiana University

Dillinger served as the assistant women's soccer coach at her alma mater Indiana University under Head Coach Joe Kelley for four seasons (1998–2001). During her tenure, she helped guide the Hoosiers to 35 wins, including an NCAA Tournament berth and the first NCAA Tournament win in school history in 1998.

Dillinger's responsibilities at IU included: individual technical and small group tactical training; contacting and evaluating prospective student-athletes; arranging and conducting official visits for prospects; scouting opponents; completing athletically related activity (ARA) logs; and arranging payment of match officials. She also served as the staff liaison with the athletic department compliance coordinator.

Washington University in St. Louis

Dillinger wasted no time making her mark as the head coach of the Washington University in St. Louis women's soccer team. In six seasons on the Danforth Campus, Dillinger guided Washington University to an 86–25–8 overall record. She ranked 14th among active Division III coaches, winning 75.6 percent of her games. Exhibiting the balance between athletic excellence and academic excellence, in the last six years the Bears have captured four UAA Conference Titles on the field and in the classroom, four ESPN the Magazine Academic All-Americans, 10 Academic All-District Honors, and 68 Academic All-UAA Honors.

Dillinger's responsibilities at Washington University included: directing and coordinating the activities of the soccer staff in the planning, organizing and coaching of the soccer program; ensuring compliance with University, Conference and NCAA policies and regulations; scheduling all fall and spring intercollegiate contests; managing the women’s soccer budget and allocating funds for distribution toward uniforms, equipment, travel and officials; organizing, preparing, and conducting team practices, training, and competition; analyzing opponents (e.g. analyzing game statistics and tactical data of opponents and preparing appropriate game plan); recruiting student-athletes in accordance with NCAA rules and regulations (e.g. campus visits, activities and meetings); consulting with the Director of Undergraduate Admissions in the recruitment process of prospective student-athletes; designing, overseeing and implementing the strength and conditioning program for all players; representing soccer program to various university divisions and externally to media, students, parents, and the general public; and counseling team members in academic, disciplinary and personal matters.

Washington University's travel schedule under Coach Dillinger included trips to the states of Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Iowa State University

On January 24, 2008, senior associate athletics director Dr. Calli Sanders announced Wendy Dillinger as the new head women's soccer coach of the Iowa State Cyclones.[20] She recorded her first win with the Cyclones at DePaul University on Friday, September 5, 2008 in a 3–1 victory. Dillinger also captured her 100th career win as a head coach on August 22, 2010 against Northern Iowa by a tally of 3–1.

Iowa State's travel schedule under Coach Dillinger included trips to the states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

University of Missouri - St. Louis

Wendy Dillinger was named the head women's soccer coach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis on December 19, 2013. On the hiring, Director of Athletics Lori Flanagan remarked "We are thrilled to name Wendy as our women's soccer coach and welcome her and her family to UMSL. She is an outstanding coach who has proven herself. We believe her knowledge of and passion for the game of soccer will benefit our student-athletes and will take this program to the next level."[22] Dillinger's first Triton win was a 3-0 victory over Waldorf College at Don Dallas Stadium on Saturday, September 5, 2014.

UMSL's travel schedule under Coach Dillinger included trips to the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Coaching History

Year-by-Year with Wendy Dillinger
YearInstitutionOverallConferenceNCAA
1998Indiana University (assistant)14–8–16–3–0Second round
1999Indiana University (assistant)5–8–62–4–4DNQ
2000Indiana University (assistant)8–9–11–8–1DNQ
2001Indiana University (assistant)8–7–23–6–1DNQ
2002Washington University in St. Louis10–5–33–2–2 (4th)DNQ
2003Washington University in St. Louis14–3–35–1–1 (1st) Second round
2004Washington University in St. Louis17–3–16–1–0 (1st) Quarter-Finals
2005Washington University in St. Louis11–7–13–4–0 (4th) DNQ
2006Washington University in St. Louis17–3–07–0–0 (1st) Sectional Semi-Final
2007Washington University in St. Louis17–4–05–2–0 (1st) Sectional Semi-Final
2008Iowa State University5–12–2 0–8–2 (11th) DNQ (RPI 197)
2009Iowa State University7–9–4 2–8–0 (11th) DNQ (RPI 164)
2010Iowa State University8–10–2 3–7–0 (10th) DNQ (RPI 108)
2011Iowa State University9–9–1 2–6–0 (8th) DNQ (RPI 78)
2012Iowa State University10–10–0 1–7–0 (9th) DNQ (RPI 115)
2013Iowa State University9–8–2 3–4–1 (4th) DNQ (RPI 127)
2014University of Missouri - St. Louis8–8–1 6–8–1 (9th) DNQ (RPI TBD)
2015University of Missouri - St. Louis12–5–4 8–3–4 (4th) First Found (RPI TBD)
Totals as Head Coach154–96–2454–61–11

Recruiting

Dillinger's recruiting history includes trips to: Crossroads of America College Showcase (Indianapolis, IN), GSi (Kansas City, KS), Orange Classic (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), WAGS, Surf Cup (CA), Texas Shoot-out (TX), Bluegrass Elite Showcase Tournament (KY), Germantown Invitational Tournament (Memphis, TN), Germantown College Showcase (Memphis, TN), President's Day Cup (Phoenix, AZ), College Search Kickoff (Muscatine, IA), CASL Shootout (Raleigh, NC), MYSA Classic (St. Louis, MO), St. Louis Cup (St. Louis, MO), Hammer FC Blue Chip Showcase (Cincinnati, OH), Midwest Regional League, Best of the Midwest, Indiana State Cup, Illinois State Cup, Missouri State Cup, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri HS State Championships.

Camps, Clubs, and Clinics

Dillinger currently serves as the Director of Triton Soccer Camps which specializes in high school aged identification and youth development. Previously she served as the director of Cyclone Soccer Camps LLC in Ames, Iowa for six years, hosting over 500 campers on the Iowa State University campus. She spent 14 consecutive summers as a member of the camp staff at Indiana University Soccer Camps and has also helped with camps at Washington University, IUPUI, Northern Arizona University, St. Louis University, University of Missouri and West Virginia Wesleyan University.

While in Missouri and Indiana, Dillinger coached USYSA teams from Lou Fusz (U17), Missouri Rush (U10, U11), Bayern Munchkin (U7), JB Marine (U17, U18), Junior Hoosiers FC (U14, U16, U19), Bloomington Cutters (U12) and Center Grove SC (U12, U14, U17).

"Coach Wendy" has also helped players from the Ames Soccer Club, Ankeny Rush, Ames High School, Cyclone Soccer Youth Academy, Indiana Olympic Development Program (ODP), Missouri Olympic Development Program (ODP), University City Soccer Club, Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School, Clayton HS, Jennings High School (Missouri), Bloomington HS South, Bloomington HS North, Edgewood HS, Bedford North Lawrence HS, Center Grove HS, Martinsville HS and Monroe County Parks & Recreation. Representing college athletics and Washington University in St. Louis, she has presented at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital SportsWorks exhibition at the St. Louis Science Center and participated in St. Louis Soccer Club College Coaches Discussion Panel in 2004 and 2006.

Coach Dillinger earned her NSCAA National Diploma in January 2000 at Nova Southeastern University. She has been a member of the NSCAA since 1998 and has attended NSCAA Annual Conventions in Baltimore, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Charlotte.

References

External links

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